News & Events

UC Foundation’s Fundraising and Support Efforts Produced Robust Across the Board Success

CINCINNATI – Oct. 14, 2016 – The University of Cincinnati Foundation today announced it had raised more than $258.9 million in financial commitments, grants and gifts-in-kind to benefit the University of Cincinnati and UC Health for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2016. Direct financial commitments totaled $100.4 million, an increase of 12 percent over the previous year. Contributions to fund patient care and research at UC Medical Center rose 40 percent to $42.4 million, and non-governmental research grants awarded to other university programs topped $30.6 million. In addition, major gifts-in-kind of software licenses and other property valued at $85.6 million were realized.

“I continue to be inspired by the incredible generosity of UC and UC Health donors,” said UC Foundation President Rodney Grabowski. “Their record-breaking support of the university and health system is changing and even saving lives. From funding innovative research to supporting student scholarships to providing best-in-class patient care, the fundraising numbers are impressive, but the impact is tremendous.”

More than 37,600 donors made gifts during the fiscal year (an increase of 5.64 percent over last year), supporting an array of areas across UC and UC Health. Specifically, $40.6 million in endowment gifts will support programming, professorships, chairs and scholarships.

“Our philanthropic efforts are vital to the university and our medical community, without which student scholarships, faculty fellowships and support, leading-edge research and other resources needed to provide the finest educational programs, would not be possible. I am proud of our UC Foundation team and board for their work in advancing UC and UC Health,” said Bob Fealy, Bus ’73, chairman of the UC Foundation Board of Trustees. “Thank you to the donors for your dedication to UC and UC Health. You have made so many extraordinary things possible.”

The Foundation’s fundraising numbers are especially impressive given a recent report from Blackbaud, a fundraising consulting firm, which showed a decline in fundraising for the higher education nonprofit sector in 2015 (down 0.4 percent from the previous year). The same report showed fundraising for the medical research sector remained flat.

In 2013, the UC Foundation joined an exclusive fundraising group through the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) – the prestigious CASE 50 Community of Interest. To be invited to join the CASE 50 Community of Interest, an institution must meet specific criteria including raising more than $100 million a year on average over the last three years, be in, plan to, or have completed a campaign of more than $1 billion and have an advancement staff of more than 100 included on its CASE roster.

Major Gift Highlights

The year was marked by a number of standout gifts benefiting numerous areas across the university and UC Health.

In September 2015, a $4 million gift from the estate of Magda Margolis was announced. The gift established the Magda and Milton Margolis Fund for Arts and Sciences within UC’s McMicken College of Arts and Sciences and created a new McMicken Honors Scholars Program. The fund supports scholarships, faculty, research and diversity initiatives.

Early in 2016, the Foundation received a $1 million gift from a grateful patient at UC Health. James (Jim) and Catherine (Cathy) Orr made the gift to establish an endowed chair at the UC College of Medicine and to benefit UC Health’s highly successful Liver Transplant Program. Jim received a life-saving liver transplant from the program back in 2014. The first recipient of the James and Catherine Orr Endowed Chair of Liver Transplantation, Shimul A. Shah, MD, MHCM, performed Jim’s life-saving liver transplant.

The recently announced $15 million gift from long-time Cincinnati benefactor Richard “Dick” Rosenthal to the UC College of Law also occurred during fiscal year 2016. The record-setting gift will help free countless wrongfully convicted individuals through the Ohio Innocence Project (OIP) at UC’s Lois and Richard Rosenthal Institute for Justice at the College of Law. The gift is the largest for the college and any innocence program.

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About the University of Cincinnati Foundation

Established in 1975, the University of Cincinnati Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation and is the private sector fundraising entity for the University of Cincinnati and UC Health. The Foundation supports UC’s aspirations through philanthropic collaboration with the colleges, the Academic Health Center, UC Health and other units to maximize private support. The Foundation’s advancement efforts promote the development of productive, enduring relationships with alumni, friends, colleagues, students, foundations, corporations and the Greater Cincinnati community. For more information, visit uc.edu/foundation.